What do you do after you lose your job, you’re $110,000 in debt, are raising a daughter, and you need to make ends meet fast? For San Diego-native Sandra Velasquez, the answer was starting Nopalera, a luxury brand of bath and body products using the nopal cactus. Nopalera is sold at over 400 retailers, including Nordstrom and Free People. Sandra Velasquez joins Bísness School to tell us why she launched a soap company when she herself is not obsessed with soaps, how she managed to build her business off of credit cards and how rejecting offers on Shark Tank affected her business. Plus, sh ..read more

Growing up in Monterrey, Mexico, Ricardo Cervantes and Alfredo Livas were used to the smell of pan dulce, or sweet bread, enveloping block after block. When Ricardo and Alfredo moved to the California for graduate school, they realized Mexican panaderías weren't as uniquitous as they were in Mexico. That wasn't necessarily surprising, but what was surprising was the difference in taste. Armed with a business degree from Stanford, Ricardo and Alfredo set out to create a chain of Mexican bakeries that celebrated Mexican sweet flavors—and created new ones—with La Monarca Bakery and Cafe. Today, t ..read more

Many know Pepe Aguilar as the Grammy-winning artist whose last name is almost synonymous with Mexican music. What many don't know is that more than 20 years ago, Aguilar launched his own record label, Equinoccio Records, followed years later by Machín Records. Aguilar joins Bísness School to explain why he broke off from the big music labels early on in his career, what business lessons he learned from his parents, Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre, and why he says his kids have the best contracts in the music industry. This episode was produced and edited by Fernando Hurtado. Follow Pepe Agu ..read more

Patty Rodriguez had a dream job as producer for one of the most popular radio shows in America: On Air with Ryan Seacrest. But her first baby and a house fire gave her the perfect conditions to pursue a dream she had been to scared to pursue: launching a line of bilingual books for kids with her childhood best friend, Ariana Stein. Learn more about Lil' Libros at lillibros.com, and follow Patty at @pattyrodriguez. This episode was produced and edited by Fernando Hurtado. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell ..read more

Ricardo Sucre, Gabriel González and Gustavo Darquea experienced culture shock when they came to the United States from South America for college. It wasn't just the language or the food — it was what college students drank that was surprising. Beer, vodka and hard seltzers reigned, while rum was nowhere to be found. After graduating from college, the trio decided to create a hard seltzer that was distinctly Latino. Ricardo Sucre and Gustavo Darquea explain how the idea for Casalú, a rum-based hard seltzer, was born — and how they took it from a SodaStream to stores all over Florida and Nevada ..read more

How do you make a Spanglish music star? Charlie Guerrero and Paloma Hecht don't have a formula, but they know what's worked for them. "Authenticity," they say. The duo, who managers singer Sofía Reyes, explains what drove them to make music mixing English and Spanish when executives told them that was a bad idea and they share how they've produced massive hits with artists like Jason Derulo, De La Guetto and Wisin with their company, MITH Media. Follow Paloma and Charlie at @palomahecht and @charlieguerrero. Follow MITH Media at @m.i.t.h.media. This episode was produced by Fernando Hurtado and ..read more

Mike Alfaro was home in Guatemala taking a break from his career fast-paced career in advertising in the United States when he saw it: the yellow Lotería game box he used to play all the time growing up. The game held a special place in Mike's heart, but the cards inside the box stood out like a sore thumb. Cards portraying a woman as a reserved woman clad in formal apparel stood at odds with the #MeToo movement that was sweeping the nation at the time. Mike decided to create a "millennial" version of a few Lotería cards for his portfolio. When he shared the drawings on social media, they took ..read more

NBC and Telemundo join forces to map the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in the United States: Latinos. In Bísness School, Latino founders share how they’ve built successful business and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. It sounds like business school, but it’s not. There are no early classes, no homework — and best of all, it’s free. Look out for new episodes every other Tuesday. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ..read more